There is a gray area that we live in, that is the area devoid of logic, that lies between what we want and crave and dopamine freely emerges as soon as we seize its moments, and that other area that repels us and spoils our serenity, that in which we lose every second that passes inside, whether we shake our feet in tension or scream angrily and there is no answer, for life there is wasted in vain, and breaths are wasted.
Between this and that, you find me now stumbling in ignorance. You think I am like "Alice in Wonderland"?! But she fell into another hole by mistake that contains nothing but snakes . If the purpose of life is absent, we fall into the idiocy of ambiguity. If it is not a dream or reality, then what? And who is this sitting next to me?
Who are you, Baher? Are you also a fictional character in a scenario of a dream we share inside one of the brains? Or are you reality and I am the fantasy imposed on you from another place that has not yet been discovered?
The Chinese philosopher Guang Zhou once said: "I once saw in a dream that I was a butterfly flapping its wings. Then I woke up suddenly, and here I am lying on the ground, a man as I was. Now I do not know whether I was a man at that time dreaming that I was a butterfly or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming that I am a man."
I was pulled out of that thought by a loud, screaming voice, his voice covering the sound of the cold air pouring in from the window of the jeep :
" Don't worry, we'll handle it."
Then he began to talk at length about the negligent police, about his heroic stances in reclaiming his rights himself without needing anyone, and about those scoundrels whom he had saved his muscles to teach a lesson to.
I was lost in my thoughts again, until my head hit the car window due to the sudden braking, and he pointed with his hand to the abandoned villa:
- "Is this the place?"
I replied in the affirmative.
His face became more serious as he left the car, then disappeared into the back and pulled out his gun, then returned with it while loading it and saying:
" Always prepare for the worst , my friend. I hope we don't need it . "
- " Let's go " .
With cautious steps we entered, I pointed to the door at the bottom of the stairs.
I led him through the broken door to the inner staircase. He gasped in surprise, his face in dismay. I had thought he had seen too much, but now I knew it was more than his mind could have imagined.
Maybe he thought they were some women held captive by some thug who would run away as soon as he saw the gun in his hand. I watch Baher now, fear creeping into his veins, but it seems the time for retreat has passed anyway.
In front of the iron door that was still standing firmly and proudly, I saw them rushing towards us this time quietly, having learned their lesson well.
I looked behind me at Baher, who had covered his nose with his hand because of the smell. When I made way for him to bet, he couldn't hide his panic, then he looked at me with a look that said: What the hell is this?!
But he pulled himself together and said to them firmly:
" Don't be afraid; we have come to get you out."
The mother returned to embrace the daughter lying in joy, repeating phrases of thanks to God for their survival at last. As for the other girl, she remained where she was, her eyes fixed on what we were doing.
While Baher was busy examining the door and the metal shackles, the girl slowly walked forward, examining my face. I looked into her eyes, which were confused about my situation.
She put her fist on the door and said:
- "Who are you?"
I said:
- "no one".
She looked behind her to her mother to share her confusion, then turned to me and asked:
- "Are you an angel?"
I turned my face away from her, and her voice came out loud despite herself:
- "angel".
Then she woke up and continued in a low voice:
" Yes, you are an angel; we saw you suddenly disappear before our eyes when that masked man attacked you."
Baher paused for a moment as he looked at her, then smiled sarcastically:
- "What are you doing in there?"
She reached out to hold my hand through the door, then said:
- "I thank you".
Here something caught my attention. She had wrapped her hand in a cloth soaked in blood, and from the inside her palm was visible with some fingers missing. This madman had amputated her fingers!
I grabbed her hand to examine it, but she pulled it away, tears escaping her eyes despite her face trying to hold itself together.
I whispered to her, saying:
- "How long has it been since you were last here?"
Her eyes narrowed and she did not respond. As for Baher, he looked at me and said:
- You too? Booze or Tramadol?
Then he continued, saying:
" The door is locked and cannot be opened, and if we start breaking it down we will wake up the whole neighborhood."
Then he knelt down and examined the ground under the door, then stood up again and said:
" The ground under the door is uneven. We can easily dig under the door."
Before I could reject the idea, he said:
" I'll dig a hole under the door to allow room for the jack to fit through; I think if we lift it up with the jack it will break."
What an idea! It seems that this " Bahir " is not bad at all, I patted him on the shoulder and said:
- "amazing".
- "Okay. Wait here, I'll go to the car and get the korik."
Then he turned to them and said:
- "Do you know when the bastard is coming back?"
The mother said:
" We don't know. We heard his car leave hours ago."
" Good; that gives us some time then."
I said:
" You bring the jackhammer and I will start digging while you get back."
Baher ran out quickly, and I climbed the stairs, looking for a pickaxe or anything to help me with my task. I felt around until my feet led me to that room.
I pushed the door open , and it was pitch black. I felt around for the light switch, and when I found it, I pressed it, and the room lit up. Immediately, that smell reached my nose, and I coughed in spite of myself, as if my sense of smell had stopped smelling until the picture was complete before my eyes.
The place was no better than the basement, and although the room was well lit, its corners were dimly lit, the dark corners where you would think someone was hiding and preparing to pounce on you. Under the lamp was a small table in the middle of the room, on which were placed some sharp tools, and some blades were visible, arranged from smallest to largest, while the rest of the things were covered with old sheets.
And here I was drawn to that picture on the table.
-This face!
It's Shawky, the one with the amputated arm.
He was standing smiling, holding the fat woman in the basement in his hand - before he lost it.
So this scoundrel chooses his victims and follows them around to snatch them.
But why? I see nothing in the picture but a small, simple family . What is interesting about these poor people? Or perhaps this is what interests him ! That poor class that has no support and no one will care if they disappear or are killed .
I felt someone behind me, and before I could turn around, I was hit.
***
The blindfold was removed from Baher's face, he was still unconscious, the wrist had been broken in preparation for him dropping the weapon, then the head trauma that left a gaping wound that opened the gate of God to allow a torrent of blood to escape down his face, the hands and feet were tightly tied to the seat.
Now, you will not recognize this blood-soaked face until it is washed with a splash of water from a bucket by the hand of this masked person, and it was, as the water wiped away his blood and restored him to consciousness.
Bahir woke up with a groan.
" I don't like curious people. You're not supposed to cross over to the other world now, but it's fate."
Those words fell on Baher's ears like a thunderbolt, and his eyes opened wide.
In front of him was someone wearing a mask that covered his face, then a voice came from under the mask saying:
- "Here comes the screaming part."
He began to use the blades in front of him, one after the other, in front of Baher, who began to scream muffledly, curse, and kick miserably, but he cut them off when the person pulled his head to place the blade on his neck and appeared to be slaughtering it.
" Yes, so I have gagged you tightly. Here comes the second stage: I will remove the gag from your mouth, but I swear to you that if you scream, I will plunge this blade into your throat."
Bahir nodded with terrified eyes, removing what was preventing him from speaking.
Baher took a deep breath, then said:
" You are making a grave mistake; my father is a billionaire, I will give you whatever you want. Just leave me alone, and I swear I will not say a word about what is happening here. This is your castle, do with it as you please, just let me go."
The masked man knelt down and said:
- " Here I will politely decline your offer, and let the third stage come . "
" What stage, you son of a bitch? Let go of just one of my two hands and let's see what's in your pants, is it a penis or are you a sissy son of a bitch! "
The masked man stopped, putting his hand under his chin as if thinking, then said sarcastically:
" My friend, this is not the best way to negotiate with a scoundrel with a knife. Why must you be so rude to strangers? Believe me, this behavior will only bring you disaster. And by the way, we have now reached the third and final stage, the stage in which I will kill you."
Then the poor man's mouth was gagged again and he started crying. He was begging and pleading with words that were not made public. The masked man raised the blade and put it away. After that, he removed the sheet from a large tool that was placed on a wheel. He dragged it and brought it beside Baher. Then he pulled his head violently and put it between the palms of the tool. He turned a handle on the side until the tool was firmly on Baher's head. Here , Baher realized that it was the end.
He shouldn't have come with Adam, he shouldn't have volunteered to be the hero; every horror story that has a hero and a killer is inevitably full of secondary characters who are killed in the worst possible way, passing between the lines and forgotten by everyone. And when he thought he was the hero who would bring the story to an end, he didn't know that he was actually one of those secondary characters who would simply die.
He started muttering the Shahada, but the masked man didn't pay attention to him, as he was used to all this. In fact, he started arranging the tools around him as if he was preparing a star to be a guest on one of the channels. He started placing small speakers that looked like sensors on Baher's head and on the collar of his shirt. When he was sure that everything was being recorded, he turned on the death instrument, and the machine started to slowly squeeze Baher's head. Every time Baher screamed, the masked man was aroused and screamed in turn from extreme ecstasy.
Baher's eyes bulged in pain, then the masked man turned the tool again, the bones began to make terrifying sounds; the skull began to crack and the poor man's screams took on a different tone.
He turned the tool a third time... then turned... then turned until...
Perhaps we must not describe the scene any further, for it has become indescribably disgusting. A scene that only a sick scoundrel would enjoy.
He sat contemplating his masterpiece, panting with ecstasy.
***
A foul odor seeped into my nose, making me flinch, so I stood up.
My head hurt, and when I touched it with my hand I saw that blood had stained it.
I looked around to find myself locked in the basement, my eyes barely able to see.
They spotted the three women scattered around, their eyes filled with regret.
Why not?! I had hardly given them hope before I snatched it away from them again, and the matter had become monotonous. We had come to the lion's den unarmed except for childish recklessness, some false hope, and a lot of foolishness . This was his impregnable fortress and his unbreakable bunker. How did I not see this coming in me? And where is poor Baher? His fate is now unknown.
I asked, " What would happen to me if I shared the same fate as them here? Would this be the end? Or would I wake up from a nightmare? This pain in my head, this terror, this blood is more than just an illusion.
Here the girl with the amputated fingers approached me, leaned her face up and said:
- "Are you well?".
I said weakly:
- "I will live."
I looked at the silent girl lying on the ground since I burst into the scene, and asked the girl next to me:
- "Is she alive?"
She nodded her head and replied:
- "Yes, she's still breathing."
She got up and leaned against the wall, while she squatted down, placing her hands on her feet, and then continued, saying:
" Who are you? What's your secret? Did you come to save us? Are you really an angel?"
I looked at her regretfully, denying, then I said:
" It seems that now we will share the same fate."
She sat next to me and said:
- "My name is Mary, and yours?"
I replied saying:
- "Adam."
She glanced at the girl lying down while her mother was still hugging her, then she added:
" You know what? She's luckier than us now; she's unconscious, so she doesn't feel the terror we go through every moment. That bastard treats us like chickens locked in a cage, coming to pick up a chicken whenever he gets the chance."
- " Were there others besides you? "
" Of course, but he killed them all . "
I looked at Maryam, at her swollen face, full of bruises and wounds that disfigured it. This face will definitely never be the same again, she knows that; what is more important to a woman than her face? A man does not care much if he has some scars on his features, he might even be proud of them. As for a woman, killing is easier than that. And I think that those tears that flow from her eyes without stopping know this very well .
She suddenly looked at me in turn, so I looked away so that my disapproval of her disfigured face would not hurt her, so I said, with the intention of distraction:
- "Who did this to you? Did you know him?"
She wiped away the mucus that had dripped from her nose, then wiped her eyes before saying:
" He was wearing a mask when he kidnapped me from the side of the road. I was running alone, coveting a slender body."
She laughed sadly, saying:
" Can you believe it? What a damn body ! Look, I'm still wearing my gym clothes."
I said:
" So, no one saw him."
" Only the girl saw him, her mother and I haven't seen him yet . She wakes up from time to time, maybe you can ask her then."
As if the girl was listening, she let out a groan as she tried to move. The mother's voice rose:
- "Baby, I'm here, are you okay?"
Mary ran towards her, but as for me, I don't know why I didn't move. Am I tired or just don't care anymore?!
They both carefully placed their hands under her back to slowly lift her up, she let out a muffled cry as she got up, and put her hand over the deep wound in her stomach. The mother then broke down crying and kissed her parting, but when her eyes met mine they widened.
Her mouth dropped, and she started screaming hysterically, raising her hand towards me, saying:
- "You? You? It's him, it's that animal."
I shook my head in disapproval. I had never seen her before. Did I look like someone she knew?
The deep wound on her face, her eyes, her swollen mouth... all of this made her look like a monster, and it hid everything that her real face could be, but as I approached her, trying to examine her ...
This face... this face is familiar, I know it well. No, I memorize it. Oh my God! What in heaven and earth is happening?
Adel, then Ramez, and now Sama too ?!
The mother and Mary tried to calm her down, but to no avail, as she would not stop screaming.
She started looking around, and the mother shouted:
- "Calm down, calm down, what are you looking for?"
Then I found her bag.
And when you took the paper picture out of the bag, when you threw it in my face so that it flew in the air and then settled on the ground, you cried out in a weak voice saying:
" It's him. Iyad."
The mother hugged her and looked at me in panic, while Maryam stared at the scene blankly. I approached the picture cautiously, then picked it up.
It was a drawn picture of a face embracing her affectionately, and the features of this person were clear and unmistakable, for those features did not resemble me, but we were identical.
The picture fell from my hand and my feet swayed backwards without me knowing, until I fell next to the wall.
Something's wrong with my hand, I raise my hand to my face, it's fading.
I looked at them with a face that was fading in turn, until my whole body had vanished from the place.
The last thing we saw were my bulging eyes.
*****
The killer removed the tentacles from Baher's head, or what was left of them, the latter of whom had not yet left the convulsions.
He turned off the recording device, then removed the storage unit from it to insert it into his phone, then inserted the two earphones into his ears, and stared into the mirror from behind the mask.
When he started playing the tune of death.
Every moment of screaming, squeezing, or crushing bones was like someone taking a dose of heroin, listening and enjoying with eyes wide open, as if devouring the sound to fill his being.
A new kind of hunger, a hunger for buzzing, for grinding and crushing.
Sounds seep in to fill the cavities between his cells, fueling his heart, liver, spleen, and diaphragm, until the sound file is finished.
In the masterpiece of "Jenly Hallund" and "Jack von Trier" (Jack Who Built a House) they described serial killers as a person passing under a lamppost, directly under the lamppost is the thickest shadow, this is like the pleasure of someone who has just killed, and when he starts to move away, the size of his front shadow increases like the intensity of his ecstasy from killing, until he moves away and approaches another lamppost, and the reflection of his back shadow begins to grow which represents the increase in pain, or the increase in the eagerness to kill, so the further he advances, the greater the reflection of his back shadow and the shrinking of his front shadow, that is, the more the pain increases, the ecstasy melts and begins to fade. And he remains like this until he reaches the bottom of the next lamppost, and the shadow is very thick like pure pain devoid of ecstasy, which forces him to kill again to get rid of this pain, and this is what he will do.
When he removed the mask, and the ecstasy had not yet left him, he looked into the mirror with green eyes surrounded by brown circles, and a face we knew for sure.
***